Sector already 2,600 short as average age of workforce doubles in 13 years
The average age of maternity staff has increased significantly in recent years with the number of midwives in England aged 50 or over doubling from 4,057 in 2001 to 8,169 in 2014, according to a report from the Royal College of Midwives’ (RCM).
Last year was the first year on record that there were more than 1,000 midwives over the age of 60 working across the UK.
According to the RCM, there is a gap of around 2,600 midwifery positions across the NHS, which Cathy Warwick, chief executive of the body predicts will only increase as “we are not seeing enough new midwives being taken on,” she said.
According to the State of Maternity Report 2015, record numbers of women having children in their late 30s and early 40s is also putting additional pressure on the already acute shortage of midwives, because older women require more care during birth.
The report found that at least 110,000 babies have been born to women aged 35-39 over the last ten years – a level last seen after World War II – while babies born to mothers in their 40s is five times what was seen in the 1970s.
Warwick, said older, soon-to-be-mothers demand more care at a time when shortages in midwifery and the impacts of an ageing midwife workforce are at their most critical.
“What worries me in particular is the retirement time bomb that our report unearths. Not only in England, but across the UK,” she said.
“Many midwives will be able to mentor and support newer, younger midwives, but they won’t be around in maternity unit forever.
“We need to ensure enough new midwives are brought in before we lose an increasing number of midwives to retirement. If we put off dealing with it for another year, it will be far too late to do much about it," she added.
Stephen Burke, chief executive of HCL Workforce Solutions, a specialist recruiter of nurses and midwives described the situation the RCM report identifies as the “perfect storm.”
“The shortage of nurses is prevalent in a huge number of specialties and unfortunately midwifery is not an exception,” he said.
“The lack of newly-trained nurses comes at a time when a large number of midwives are retiring.”
Dr Clare McKenzie, vice-president for education at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said: “Pressure on maternity services is growing, placing stress on doctors, midwives, managers and patients.
“Pregnancies are also increasingly complicated due to the rising levels of obesity among the population, along with increasing numbers of first-time older mothers.”
HCL’s Burke said his organisation was working with NHS Trusts across the country “to alleviate the pressure by providing qualified nurses on a locum and permanent basis at government approved pricing.”